


The Great Band Shuffle

by remipachu



Series: KaoMaya Bandori Rarepair Week [3]
Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Attempts at describing music, Band Shuffle, Chill, Concert, F/F, Not quite fluff but it's like. they're gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:48:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24525667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/remipachu/pseuds/remipachu
Summary: “Alright then, everyone!” Marina called, “Let the band shuffle begin! Remember, you have a month to come up with a theme, new outfits, and a song for your group!”The Band Shuffle, from the perspective of Maya.
Relationships: Seta Kaoru/Yamato Maya
Series: KaoMaya Bandori Rarepair Week [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1771021
Kudos: 9
Collections: Bandori Rarepair Week (2019-present)





	The Great Band Shuffle

“Alright then, everyone!” Marina called, “Let the band shuffle begin! Remember, you have a month to come up with a theme, new outfits, and a song for your group!”

A cheer resonated throughout the room, and Maya turned to her new band-mates. Kasumi, Tae, Himari, and Misaki turned with her to face in a circle. Maya was a little unsure about performing with a new group, but everyone around here seemed friendly enough (even Misaki, grumpy though she may seem).

“So! Everyone!” Kasumi started, “What kinda theme do we wanna do?”

“I wanna do something funky!” Himari suggested, “So I can really go hard on my bass!”

“I’m not really sure how a DJ factors into funk…” Misaki countered, and Himari let out a huff but nodded in agreement.

“Maybe we can do something super DJ-heavy?” Maya added, “Since HaroHapi does stuff that doesn’t really focus the DJ, even if you are important.”

“Maybe some heavy dubstep…” Tae mused.

“Dubstep might be a bit much, but how about techno?” Misaki asked. The other members considered for a second, then turned to Kasumi.

“Ah! Right! I’m the leader here, ehehe…” she giggled, “I like that idea! Maybe not like, hard techno though?”

“Like techno-pop?” Misaki asked, “I think that’d be easiest for me, too. I haven’t done too much techno stuff, so going at it with a pop angle would probably be best.”

“Then it’s decided!” Kasumi cheered, “We’re the cool techno-pop band! Yay!”

With that in mind, it came time to delegate tasks for the group. It was decided that Misaki would compose and Maya would help arrange, Kasumi would write the lyrics, and Tae would help Himari design and make the outfits. After a long session getting all the logistics figured out, the “cool techno-pop band” parted ways. Maya met Kaoru outside of CiRCLE, after waiting a little for Kaoru to finish.

“Hi, Kaoru-san!” Maya greeted, “How’s your group?”

“Though our time together may be fleeting,” Kaoru began, “I do feel as though we shall enjoy great success. Yukina-chan has immense dedication to her craft, and is ensuring that we shall put on only the best of performances by month’s end. We are to create a moving gothic rock ballad.”

“Huhehe, that sounds like Minato-san, alright,” Maya laughed.

“And you, Maya?” Kaoru asked, “What kind of heart-pounding performance will you show?”

“Heart-pounding is a good word for it, considering Kasumi-san,” Maya said, “We’re going to do a techno-pop song! Misaki-san is composing for us, and I’m helping her arrange. She hasn’t arranged for two guitars before, especially not a rhythm guitar, so I thought I could use some of my skills to help her out.”

“And your skills are most suited for this task, my kitten,” Kaoru responded.

Maya laughed, and the two set off to walk home together.

\--

The day of the Band Shuffle performance arrived, and Maya had to say, she was really looking forward to performing. Despite the potential chaos of having Kasumi as a leader, things had progressed well. Misaki and Maya had gotten the song composed and arranged in record time, and Kasumi’s lyrics fit perfectly with the tune (well, almost perfectly, they had to do a little reworking of some rhythmic patterns). They had even decided Kasumi would sing a little lower than she normally did for Poppin’Party, even lower than “Returns”. And boy, did that ever work.

The outfits turned out exceptionally cool and yet cute at the same time, somewhat reminiscent of Afterglow’s style, but more coordinated and sparkly. Everyone had matching scrunchies to tie their hair in a side ponytail, and small charms to attach to their instruments (or, in Maya’s case, try and tie to one of her drums).

After drawing lots yesterday, it had been decided that the Techno-Pop Band would be going first. Following them would be Ran’s J-Rock Band, Aya’s “Heartwarming Part-Time Song Band”, Yukina’s “Tear-Jerking Ballad Band”, and finally Kokoro’s Exuberance Fun Band. Maya may have been a bit biased, but was most looking forward to the Ballad Band’s performance. She knew that Kaoru had composed the song (her first endeavor into composing, with a little assistance from Maya), and she was really looking forward to hearing the finished product.

“Kaoru-san!” Maya called from the other side of the dressing room. Kaoru looked up to see Maya waving, and came over as quickly as she could given how crowded the room was.

“Maya, but you look stunning today!” Kaoru greeted with a bow. Maya let out a shy giggle.

“You’re looking quite good yourself, Kaoru-san,” Maya returned, and it was true. Kaoru’s hair was let down and styled into waves. The red dress she wore complemented her in so many ways -- Maya would have to put in a request with whoever made HaroHapi’s costumes to try something a little fancier for their next concert. She was stunning. Maya almost found herself blushing and staring, until she realized Kaoru was speaking.

“Are you ready to perform, my kitten?” Kaoru asked, taking Maya’s hand. “I hear the style of your piece is unlike what you have done before.”

“Huhehe, it is…” Maya giggled, “But I’m ready! I’ve worked really hard with Kasumi and the others, and I’m excited to show off what we’ve done.” Just then, Maya heard Marina call her group to go on. “Ah, that’s my cue! Cheer me on!”

“I wouldn’t dream of doing otherwise.” Kaoru encouraged her, then gestured in the direction of Marina. Maya walked away with a wave, gripping her drumsticks.

“Are you all ready?” Kasumi asked.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Misaki answered from inside Michelle. Maya didn’t quite understand why she was still performing as Michelle even outside of HaroHapi, but she supposed it made sense, especially if Misaki was as self-conscious about performing as Maya thought she was.

“Then let’s go!” Kasumi cheered.

The Techno-Pop Band walked onto the stage to a great cheer from the crowd. They all waved and took their places on stage. Maya made a few tiny adjustments to her drums and attached the charm Himari made to the snare (it was her own; she couldn’t resist bringing her trust snare on stage with her). She gave one look to the audience, and then looked to the rest of her bandmates, giving them all a nod and smiling.

“Hey everyone!” Kasumi called to the audience. “I’m Toyama Kasumi, and I’m with Hanazono Tae-chan, Uehara Himari-chan, Yamato Maya-senpai, and Oku-, ah, Michelle-chan! We’re here to perform an original song for you! It’s called ‘Glimmering Starlight’!”

Maya turned to Misaki and gave a silent countdown. When it ended, Misaki immediately started spinning her turntables -- the song was pretty sample-heavy. After a few measures of straight recordings, Maya led in with a drum fill, and Tae, Himari, and Kasumi began playing as well. When it was time for Kasumi to start singing, the instruments faded out and her voice rang clear. The rest of the song continued, and before Maya knew it, they had finished. The crowd screamed and cheered, with an especially loud girl with blue hair at the front screaming something about Poppin’Party’s Kasumi and Tae.

Everyone got up and waved, thanking the audience, and filed off stage. Kasumi gave a high-five to Ran, who was waiting in the wings, and Maya smiled at Eve, wishing her a silent good luck. She let out a sigh of tension she didn’t realize she’d had once she made it to the green room and sat in front of one of the mirrors. Maya found her bag and began wiping her makeup off soon after, and found Kaoru doing some last-minute warm-ups. When Kaoru saw Maya looking over at her, she walked over.

“Maya, your performance was nothing short of spectacular,” Kaoru complimented, “You captivated the audience like no other!”

“Huhehe, thank you, Kaoru-san,” Maya giggled, face flushing, “It wasn’t just me, though. The rest of the band did an amazing job. It wasn’t something I could have done on my own, especially since with Pastel*Palettes, it’s all done for us.”

“Nonetheless, little kitten, you contributed in large part,” Kaoru continued, “Now rest well, so that you may join the audience in experiencing my band’s fleeting performance.” Maya nodded with a smile.

She listened as Kaoru continued to warm up. Kaoru truly had a beautiful voice, it was a shame that she didn’t sing as much as Maya would like. It wasn’t long before it was time for Kaoru to go on, now, and Maya finished taking off her costume and makeup. She wished Kaoru good luck and rushed to the live hall just in time to hear the last notes of Ran’s band. She applauded with the rest of the audience, then waited eagerly for Yukina’s band to come on.

And when they did, they came on in style. The stage went completely dark right before the band made their way on stage. Red lights slowly became brighter at the feet of each performer, before a spotlight lit each from above: Rinko, Saaya, Chisato, Kaoru, and finally Yukina. The crowd erupted into applause, which quieted as Yukina stepped up to the microphone.

“I am Minato Yukina of Roselia,” she began, “Performing with me today are Seta Kaoru of Hello, Happy World, Shirasagi Chisato of Pastel*Palettes, Yamabuki Saaya of Poppin’Party, and, of course, Shirokane Rinko of Roselia.” She took a pause, gazing over the audience. “Please listen to our song, ‘Phoenix’s Ballad’.”

The song started quitely, with a piano melody from Rinko. It started with only high notes on the right hand, then began dipping lower and lower, until Rinko began playing chords with her left hand and going back up with her right. Kaoru joined on guitar, matching the melody Rinko played, and Chisato subtly echoed the chords on her bass. Saaya crescendoed on her cymbal, and the song began in earnest. It was a slow song, but powerful, and it only became more powerful when Yukina started to sing. Her voice was quiet at first, but as she kept going, she got louder. It was a passionate song about love and heartbreak, and pulling yourself up when you had been made to feel like nothing. Everyone else got a chance to shine and sing as well, getting a few lines in the second verse each. The bridge before the final chorus became as quiet as the beginning, but in true Yukina form, she brought the power in that chorus, and closed out the song on a victorious note.

Maya was absolutely blown away. The production quality was exactly what she would have expected from Roselia, but it somehow felt completely different. Maybe it was the tone of Kaoru’s guitar, or Saaya’s drumming style, or any other number of things, but no matter what, it was a unique experience that was nothing less than Maya anticipated.

It took a second after the song ended for the crowd to begin applauding, but when they did, it was deafening. Maya couldn’t stop herself from screaming in applause, it was simply an amazing performance. As soon as the band exited to backstage, Maya ran to greet them. Without looking, she crashed into Kaoru, knocking the both of them over.

“Ahhhhh, Kaoru-san, I’m sorry!” Maya squeaked, forgetting to get off of Kaoru, “I was just so excited! That was amazing! I’ve never seen anything like it before!” Kaoru’s face was flushed red. Maya guessed it must have been from the exertion of the performance.

“It was b-but a day’s work, my Maya,” Kaoru replied, her stammering uncharacteristic of her usual self, “Ah, I mean, er, my kitten, Maya, my, uh… In any case, it was nothing at all! Now, ah, shall we go to witness the fleeting performances of, um, everyone else?” Maya nodded with a wide smile. “You’ll, er, have to… Get off of me…” Kaoru’s voice trailed off in what almost seemed like embarrassment. Maya looked down and realized that she was, indeed, still on top of Kaoru, and promptly got off of her.

Maya gave a smile to Kaoru and helped her up, then helped her to rinse off her makeup. Hand in hand, they walked out to the audience to watch the rest of the performances together.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm always a sucker for Maya flustering Kaoru. Especially when she doesn't intend to.
> 
> Remember that BLM hasn't ended. Additionally, support a black-owned business today! Chances are, if you're looking to buy something online, there's a black-owned business that sells it. There are many lists of such businesses, it shouldn't be hard to find what you're looking for. And remember, silence is compliance.


End file.
